One of Mark Weiss’ first rock and roll photographs was of Eric Clapton in 1975 at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. A family member had bought tickets for the show to celebrate his 15th birthday. Weiss sneaked a 35mm camera into the arena, and it was while snapping off a few shots that he had an epiphany: Taking photographs of rock stars is what he was meant to do.
Now Weiss’ work can be seen in a beautifully designed, 378-page, full-color coffee table book called The Decade That Rocked. The book is all about Weiss’ skyrocketing career in the 1980s and how rock music evolved in the decade through the lens of a photographer who knew his subjects well. Gene Simmons put it best in a quote for the book: “Mark Weiss is a rock star. If he didn’t have a camera hanging around his neck … it would be a Les Paul guitar.”
Part of Weiss’ success in the 1980s was his ability to make musicians feel at ease in front of the camera. That in itself is not an easy job. Rock stars might be photogenic, but they are not necessarily the most patient subjects, and photoshoots — especially album cover photoshoots — can take a great deal of time to perfect.
Weiss gave Goldmine the stories behind his album cover photography for some of the bestselling records of the 1980s.
MARK WEISS: It almost broke up the band, believe it or not. I heard years later that the shoot was almost like the straw that broke the camel’s back, because the photo was supposed to be a band shot on the cover, and it was intended to be that.
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Esta historia es de la edición December 2020 de GOLDMINE.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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THE GRAND POOBAH!
SINCE THEIR INCARNATION in the early 1970s, the band Poobah have recorded over a dozen albums with various lineups, while openi ng for some of rock and roll’s biggest names.
THE MAKING OF PEARL
JANIS JOPLIN IN 1970: A NEW B AND AND THE MAKING OF HER CLASSIC ALBUM, PEARL.
There Must Have Been Something in the Water
If The Beatles never happened, if the British invasion never occurred, then music fans around the world would more than likely never have been exposed to some of the finest white blues singers that the U.K. produced between 1964 and 1970.
The SAGA Continues
SAGA WERE NOT THE ONLY band to make an album during the pandemic — far from it.
Ten Years After MORE THAN 50 YEARS LATER
DRUMMER RIC LEE TALKS TO GOLDMINE ABOUT A TEN YEARS AFTER DELUXE EDITION OF THE A STING IN THE TALE ALBUM AND HIS RECENTLY RELEASED MEMOIR, FROM HEADSTOCKS TO WOODSTOCK.
SUZI QUATRO IS BACK!
WITH A NEW ALBUM, THE DEVIL IN ME, THIS PIONEERING FEMALE ROCKER REMAINS AS DRIVEN AND DETERMINED AS EVER
RE-SHAKE & RE-MAKE
WITH THE RERELEASE OF THEIR DEBUT ALBUM, SHAKE YOUR MONEY MAKER, THE BLACK CROWES FLY HIGH BY REFLECTING ON THEIR ROOTS.
LOVE FOR PEARL
2021 will be a big year for fans of Janis Joplin. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland is curating a special exhibit devoted to her that is scheduled to open in May.
Q&A WITH JANIS' SIBLINGS, LAURA AND MICHAEL JOPLIN
Q&A WITH JANIS’ SIBLINGS, LAURA AND MICHAEL JOPLIN
CHERISHING CITY TO CITY A timeless classic by GERRY RAFFERTY
It’s early 1978 and the new single by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty, “Baker Street,” is blasting out on the airwaves on my small transistor radio.
